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About

The broad scope of the delegated powers (including Henry VIII powers) within the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, the inadequate constraints placed on them, and shortcomings in the proposed parliamentary control of the delegated legislation that will be made using them, constitute a toxic mix, for Parliament and the balance of power between executive and legislature.

In a new report, ‘Taking Back Control for Brexit and Beyond: Delegated Legislation, Parliamentary Scrutiny and the EU (Withdrawal) Bill’, the Hansard Society proposes a three-part solution to the problem:

The EU (Withdrawal) Bill should be amended to circumscribe the powers it delegates more tightly;

A new, bespoke, EU (Withdrawal) Order strengthened scrutiny procedure should be introduced for the exercise of the widest delegated powers; and

A new House of Commons ‘sift and scrutiny’ system – with a dedicated Delegated Legislation Scrutiny Committee – should be established for all delegated legislation.

Table of contents

Executive summary

Introduction

The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: delegated powers and their scrutiny

House of Commons scrutiny of delegated legislation: an inadequate system

A new ‘sift and scrutiny’ system for the House of Commons

A new strengthened scrutiny procedure for the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Reform of House of Lords scrutiny of delegated legislation

Glossary

Appendix: The negative and affirmative procedures under the proposed new ‘sift and scrutiny’ system in the House of Commons

Latest

blog / 04.09.19

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3 September marked the 80th anniversary of the UK’s declaration of war on Nazi Germany. As the House of Commons again engages in tumultuous and historic proceedings, Professor Stuart Ball recounts the debates in the Chamber in the two preceding days that helped to precipitate the declaration.

‘Erskine May’, the authoritative guide to Parliament’s procedures and practice, went online on 2 July. The move has significant implications for democratic transparency and for Parliament’s interaction with the public. Here, one of the editors of the new edition, Clerk of the Journals Mark Hutton, explains why and how the innovation came about.

Power of the Purse: what is the Estimates process and how does it work?

Some backbench MPs are seeking to use House of Commons approval of the government’s Main Estimates for 2019-20 as a vehicle against a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, meaning the process is attracting greater interest than usual. We set out how the Estimates process works, how it has changed over the years, and how it could be improved in the future.

The increased stature of select committees and their chairs: reflections by Harriet Harman MP

On the 40th anniversary of the creation of departmental select committees, Harriet Harman, the longest continuously-serving woman MP, offers some personal reflections on the growing importance of select committees and their chairs, particularly at a time of considerable political instability.